ANNOUNCING THE 2026 CONRAD PREBYS SUMMER SEASON
AT THE RADY SHELL!

BUDDY GUY 90

Friday, September 11, 7:30 PM

...with Special Guest CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM!

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Buddy Guy brings his 90th birthday celebration to The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park! At 90 years old, he stands as one of the most influential guitarists in American music. As a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a pioneer of Chicago’s explosive West Side sound, Buddy Guy remains a guiding force for generations of rock and blues legends. The nine-time Grammy winner has also earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, 38 Blues Music Awards, the Billboard Century Award, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honor. Rolling Stone ranks him #23 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” underscoring his unmatched impact on modern music.

Born in 1936 to a sharecropper’s family in rural Louisiana, Guy arrived in Chicago in 1957 and went on to reshape the sound of the electric guitar through groundbreaking work with Chess Records and influential recordings of his own. His recent achievements include a 2019 Grammy win for The Blues Is Alive and Well and the acclaimed PBS American Masters documentary Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away. Today, as he celebrates 90 years, Buddy Guy remains an American music icon – one of the last living architects of the electric blues tradition.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

The Sixties Show

Friday, September 18, 7:30 PM

Craig O’Keefe, bass, vocals, guitar
Tom Licameli, guitar, vocals, bass
Jim Boggia, guitar, vocals, ukulele
Kevin Bents, keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass
Scott Devours, drums
Peter Chiusano, keyboards

From New York City comes the greatest 1960s musical re-creation show on Earth! This popular, award-winning Off-Broadway production delivers a high-energy, multimedia immersive experience that transports audiences back in time – built around a thrilling, note-for-note live concert re-creation. The members of The Sixties Show were hand-picked to perform and record with The Who, Sir Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, The Bee Gees, The Rascals, Mick Jagger, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (Steely Dan).

What you’re about to experience isn’t nostalgia. Time travel is real. It just sounds different than you’d expect. You’re not watching the past. You’re moving through it. What happens on stage isn’t a reenactment. It’s a loop. A current. A feedback circuit of memory and energy. What happened then is happening again. Right now.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

BUDDY GUY 90

Friday, September 11, 7:30 PM

...with Special Guest CHRISTONE "KINGFISH" INGRAM!

---

Buddy Guy brings his 90th birthday celebration to The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park! At 90 years old, he stands as one of the most influential guitarists in American music. As a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee and a pioneer of Chicago’s explosive West Side sound, Buddy Guy remains a guiding force for generations of rock and blues legends. The nine-time Grammy winner has also earned a Lifetime Achievement Grammy, 38 Blues Music Awards, the Billboard Century Award, the Presidential National Medal of Arts, and the Kennedy Center Honor. Rolling Stone ranks him #23 on its list of the “100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time,” underscoring his unmatched impact on modern music.

Born in 1936 to a sharecropper’s family in rural Louisiana, Guy arrived in Chicago in 1957 and went on to reshape the sound of the electric guitar through groundbreaking work with Chess Records and influential recordings of his own. His recent achievements include a 2019 Grammy win for The Blues Is Alive and Well and the acclaimed PBS American Masters documentary Buddy Guy: The Blues Chase the Blues Away. Today, as he celebrates 90 years, Buddy Guy remains an American music icon – one of the last living architects of the electric blues tradition.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

The Sixties Show

Friday, September 18, 7:30 PM

Craig O’Keefe, bass, vocals, guitar
Tom Licameli, guitar, vocals, bass
Jim Boggia, guitar, vocals, ukulele
Kevin Bents, keyboards, vocals, guitar, bass
Scott Devours, drums
Peter Chiusano, keyboards

From New York City comes the greatest 1960s musical re-creation show on Earth! This popular, award-winning Off-Broadway production delivers a high-energy, multimedia immersive experience that transports audiences back in time – built around a thrilling, note-for-note live concert re-creation. The members of The Sixties Show were hand-picked to perform and record with The Who, Sir Paul McCartney, The Beach Boys, Brian Wilson, The Bee Gees, The Rascals, Mick Jagger, John Fogerty, Bruce Springsteen, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen (Steely Dan).

What you’re about to experience isn’t nostalgia. Time travel is real. It just sounds different than you’d expect. You’re not watching the past. You’re moving through it. What happens on stage isn’t a reenactment. It’s a loop. A current. A feedback circuit of memory and energy. What happened then is happening again. Right now.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Dizzy Gillespie at The Shell: A Night in Tunisia and More

Saturday, September 5, 7:30 PM

Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet (leader)
KSDS Jazz Orchestra:
   Keith Fiddmont, alto saxophone
   Charlie Arbelaez, alto saxophone
   Justo Almario, tenor saxophone
   Clifford Morin, tenor saxophone
   JP Balmat, baritone saxophone
   James Ford, trumpet
   Doug Meeuwsen, trumpet
   Derek Cannon, trumpet
   Clarence McDuffie III, trumpet
   Matthew Hall, trombone
   Jeanne Geiger, trombone
   Carter Key, trombone
   Ryan Kupsh, trombone
   Irving Flores, piano
   Julian Esparza, acoustic bass
   Tyler Kreutel, drum set
   Javier Navarrette, percussion (congas & percussion)

Experience the electrifying rhythms and timeless melodies of Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie on the waterfront at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park this summer! Led by San Diego Symphony Jazz Curator and 10-time San Diego Music Award winner Gilbert Castellanos, the 17-piece KSDS Jazz Orchestra celebrates the groundbreaking fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban music pioneered by Miles, Sonny and Dizzy.

The concert celebrates the roots and evolution of Latin Jazz back to Gillespie's historic collaboration with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo, whose innovative partnership sparked a musical revolution. Hear iconic works including “A Night in Tunisia,” “Manteca,” “Tin Tin Deo,” “Cubana Be, Cubana Bop,” and more, brought to life by virtuoso musicians who will "shake The Shell" with the music's infectious rhythms, blazing solos, and irresistible energy.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, and Dizzy Gillespie at The Shell: A Night in Tunisia and More

Saturday, September 5, 7:30 PM

Gilbert Castellanos, trumpet (leader)
KSDS Jazz Orchestra:
   Keith Fiddmont, alto saxophone
   Charlie Arbelaez, alto saxophone
   Justo Almario, tenor saxophone
   Clifford Morin, tenor saxophone
   JP Balmat, baritone saxophone
   James Ford, trumpet
   Doug Meeuwsen, trumpet
   Derek Cannon, trumpet
   Clarence McDuffie III, trumpet
   Matthew Hall, trombone
   Jeanne Geiger, trombone
   Carter Key, trombone
   Ryan Kupsh, trombone
   Irving Flores, piano
   Julian Esparza, acoustic bass
   Tyler Kreutel, drum set
   Javier Navarrette, percussion (congas & percussion)

Experience the electrifying rhythms and timeless melodies of Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins and Dizzy Gillespie on the waterfront at The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park this summer! Led by San Diego Symphony Jazz Curator and 10-time San Diego Music Award winner Gilbert Castellanos, the 17-piece KSDS Jazz Orchestra celebrates the groundbreaking fusion of jazz and Afro-Cuban music pioneered by Miles, Sonny and Dizzy.

The concert celebrates the roots and evolution of Latin Jazz back to Gillespie's historic collaboration with Cuban percussionist Chano Pozo, whose innovative partnership sparked a musical revolution. Hear iconic works including “A Night in Tunisia,” “Manteca,” “Tin Tin Deo,” “Cubana Be, Cubana Bop,” and more, brought to life by virtuoso musicians who will "shake The Shell" with the music's infectious rhythms, blazing solos, and irresistible energy.

Please note: The San Diego Symphony Orchestra does not appear on this concert.

Tchaikovsky Spectacular

Sunday, August 30, 7:30 PM

Manuel López-Gómez, conductor
Joyce Yang, piano
San Diego Symphony Orchestra

GUTIÉRREZ: Alma Llanera
TCHAIKOVSKY: Capriccio italien, Op. 45
TCHAIKOVSKY: Piano Concerto No. 1 in B-flat Major, Op. 23
TCHAIKOVSKY: Francesca da Rimini, Op. 32
TCHAIKOVSKY: 1812 Overture, Op. 49

An audience favorite returns to The Rady Shell at Jacobs Park with an evening devoted to the passionate, melodic genius of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky. Conductor Manuel López-Gómez leads the San Diego Symphony in a thrilling program featuring the exuberant Capriccio italien, the sweeping Piano Concerto No. 1 with Grammy-nominated pianist Joyce Yang, the dramatic tone poem Francesca da Rimini, and the crowd-pleasing 1812 Overture. The night concludes with spectacular pyrotechnics illuminating the bay, amplifying the excitement of this unforgettable celebration of Tchaikovsky’s music. Bold melodies, virtuosic fireworks, and a dazzling waterfront setting make this a can’t-miss summer tradition.

(Follow this link to read our recent blog post about conductor Manuel López-Gómez!)

Please Note: This concert features pyrotechnics.